Golden Globes: Which Movies Will Win, Which Ones Should Win

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Before we dive into the should/will win debate, allow us to take a moment to express our dismay at the complete and total absence of even a single nomination for the Coen Brothers’ “True Grit,” which merited at least consideration for Best Picture (drama or comedy, you pick), Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Screenplay. We can’t shake the feeling that maybe not enough members of the Hollywood Foreign Press saw the film.

But enough whining, lets’ take a look at the nominees. We’ve put who we think will win in italics and who we think should win in bold.

Of the films nominated, none was more ambitious than Christopher Nolan’s massive—in every sense—heist film about a bunch of guys who break into your dreams. And the more we look back at the list of nominees, the more "Inception" stands out as the one we'd tell people they had to see. But this is shaping up to be “The Social Network’s" year, which is understandable, as it’s a very good film that’s very much about the moment we’re living in. We just can’t help but wonder if 10 years from now we’ll look back and think, “Good film, but what was all the fuss about?”

On the one hand, we admire the HFPA for making a point of making sure that comedies and musicals are properly recognized. On the other hand, we wonder about the HFPA’s sense of humor. Where’s “The Other Guys,” “Cyrus,” “Get Him to the Greek,” “Scott Pilgrim,” “Kick-Ass,” “Easy A” or “Hot Tub Time Machine”? At least those are true comedies.

"The Social Network"

No performance knocked us out quite like Gosling’s in “Blue Valentine,” a go-for-broke-warts-and-all” clinic in an emotionally harrowing un-love story. But Firth’s been denied for too long, and the role of a stammering British king rising up to face the Nazis will be too much for voters to ignore.

Willams’ work in “Blue Valetine” was every bit as impressive as Gosling’s, and probably harder to conjure. The part called for Williams to play an unalloyed monster for much of the film, a cruel, nasty, uncommunicative woman who lacks the courage to save her marriage. But Portman was brilliant as Nina, the beautiful white swan who slowly turns black. As underwhelming as we found the film, Portman was fantastic in a physically and emotionally demanded role.

"Inception"

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the latest from director Chris Nolan, a thriller from the near future where your mind can be the scene of the crime.

As much as we loved Stone in “Easy A,” Bening was as good as ever in “TKAAR.” That said, Stone’s work in “Easy A” is exactly what this category should all about; while “TKAAR” may have been a comedy (it was funny, but not really a comedy), Bening’s role was decidedly dramatic.

Another high five to the HFPA for recognizing Weaver’s eat-her-young matriarch in the brilliant Darwinian crime family drama “Animal Kingdom.” In this category it should be Weaver and a meaningless discussion about second place. Instead it will be Adams taking him the prize, and she was outstanding as Mark Wahlberg’s muse/spine/rock, so we can live with it.

Reznor & Ross’ managed to highlight the foreboding, drama and betrayal that lurked around every corner of “The Social Network,” without drawing attention to itself. Meanwhile, Hans Zimmer’s score for “Inception,” (which we loved) inspired fart jokes and The Big Red Button.

Best Original Song
"Bound to You" – “Burlesque”"Coming Home" – “Country Strong”
"I See the Light" – “Tangled”
"There's a Place For Us" – “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" – “Burlesque”

We can’t really get behind any of these nominees, but the HFPA is going to pull their collective hair out over whether to vote for Gwyneth, the Euro-phile beauty who may yet have a career ahead of her, or Cher, who showed them a good time last year.

Javier Bardem showed a depth and range rarely seen in film as a hustler dying of cancer in “Biutiful,” but we have a feeling that Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film will prove to bleak for the HFPA. Now a triumph of the human spirit, like “The Concert”? That could be right up their alley.